Raese to Gee: Stop retaliatory conduct against whistleblowers

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Morgantown businessman John Raese has sent another in a series of letters to West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee regarding the operation of the WVU Athletic Department, and specifically about the conduct of Athletic Director Oliver Luck.

Raese’s letter, published Thursday in the Morgantown Dominion Post, dealt with the dismissal earlier this year of long-time Deputy Director of Athletics Mike Parsons. Raese contends that Parsons was driven out of his post at WVU after “telling the truth” in a meeting with Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in April of 2013.

Raese argues that Parsons had a spotless record as an employee of the University for more than 35-years, and that his career was brought to a close after Parsons was interviewed by Morrisey concerning WVU’s awarding of third tier media rights to IMG College of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In the letter, Raese referred to several reports coming out of Austin, Texas, during the search for a new Athletic Director at the University of Texas, a position that Luck interviewed for.

“They must be pretty smart in Texas,” Raese said. “They had everything right except the misinformation emanating out of WVU about increased profits. If I had anything to do with Luck staying at West Virginia, then I apologize to Mountaineer fans everywhere.”